Sony Ericsson revamps P series smart phone

Back to basics

Sony Ericsson is to take its P series of Symbian-running smart phones right back to basics. Last night it launched the candybar, Wi-Fi enabled P1.

The new handset brings the P series' look into line with Sony Ericsson's other top-of-the-range models. Once again, it uses the UIQ user interface, controled through the micro keyboard, stylus and jog dial. The display is a 2.6in, 240 x 320, 262,144-colour touchscreen.

The handset's lithe 10.6 x 5.5 x 1.7cm casing - three-quarters of the size of the P990, Sony Ericsson said - contains 802.11b Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 2.0, a tri-band GSM/GPRS radio and UMTS 3G. There's a front-facing camera, but the absence of HSDPA-accelerated download technology is still a surprise for a phone of this kind. The main camera is a 3.2-megapixel, 3x digital zoom job. The phone has an on-board FM radio

The P1 has 160MB of memory for the user's apps and data, expandable using Memory Stick Micro cards - there's a 512MB card in the box. In addition to all the usual personal information, media and messaging apps on board, the P1 carries BlackBerry Connect and can receive email pushed from Microsoft Exchange.